Schematics
by That's LEON
Summary: Drabbles involving Cloud and Zack. Taking requests, feel free to skip around. BRB SCHOOL
1. ZxC: Don't

**Schematics  
**_Toothpaste Addict_

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**A/N: **Hey guise! :D I decided to lump my ZxC drabbles together, so they will go here. These are like little sketches that just kind of lay out some thoughts, hence the title. I'll take requests within the parameters of this collection (after I put up what I already have, that is) so feel free to start suggesting things.  
Cheers, Silver.

**Disclaimer:** I don't think I even own the air I'm breathing right now. Shit 8C

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**Don't**

-

"Don't."

He turns his head away, struggling meekly against the other's grip. Zack has him cornered, one hand holding him to the wall, and there's nowhere to escape to. That doesn't scare him nearly as much as the fact that he doesn't _want_ to escape. Cloud's heart is missing beats in his chest, cheeks flushed as his words find themselves at odds with his body, the two pleading for entirely different things. Zack's lips brush the corner of his mouth, trying to persuade him to turn. The young cadet gives in instinctively and it's heaven for a moment--a guilty heaven--as the other kisses him reassuringly.

Fragments of memory flash through his mind--Zack's hands on him, lips on his sweat-slicked flesh, words of comfort and affection being murmured into his ear--and his skin crawls with pleasure. His lieutenant's moistened lips warm his own and he's painfully aware that there's nothing in this world he wants more than Zack. And somehow... for some crazy reason, Zack wants him back.

It's ridiculous. Absurd. Exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. He's in love--if that still means the same thing it did the last time he checked--and that thought scares him shitless. He's not sure why. It's not really the fact that it's another guy, or that it's his best friend. As the older boy's tongue coaxes his own into motion, a hum of approval forming in his throat, he's not sure why it scares him at all. Maybe it's just the fact that Zack, as his superior officer, could get court-martialed for this and they could both get kicked out of the army forever...

His half-hearted musings suddenly drop on him like a ton of bricks, and he pushes Zack away hastily. "Stop--" he tries to meet the lieutenant's eyes, fails. Glaring at the floor, he grits his teeth. "I'm not--"

"Not gay?" Zack's calloused hands massage the cadet's shoulders, trying to make the younger boy relax, and he has the decency to frown as that terribly weighted word passes his lips. Pressing a chaste kiss to the blond's temple, he smirks widely and whispers, "That's not the impression I was getting last night."

Cloud tenses again, fighting back the incriminating blush that crawls up the back of his neck. "I was drunk," he says irritably in his defense, both of them knowing he's lying through his teeth. He knows that Zack would never take advantage of him like that, and it's an insult to imply otherwise. He knows Zack is better than that. And Zack knows that he knows.

And yet, the other concedes. "I'm sorry, man." He suddenly sounds uncharacteristically sober. "I guess I was really drunk, too. But I shouldn't have... y'know." He hesitates, clears his throat. "It won't happen again. Promise." And that sunny smile is back, wordlessly extending his most sincere good will. _Awkward_ is always a short-lived status for him.

Cloud nods in acknowledgement, but his throat feels tight. Something in his chest constricts, and he suddenly feels sick. Never again.

Never.

The raven-haired boy cocks his head. "What's wrong?" No response. "...We're still friends, right?" He asks, with the usual cheeky grin. Cloud wonders what he's feeling inside, beyond those unnaturally contented violet eyes, but lets it go.

"Yeah." It's better this way.

-

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**A/N: **Hope you liked! Reviews are welcome as always. I do reply to all of them, even though I usually have nothing interesting to say u.u;;

EDIT: ARGH wtf. Apparently this one went through twice :c Excuse my complete incompetence with the submission system on this site. ksdjfhsdh -hits ffnet with blunt objects-


	2. Cloud: Maybe

**Maybe  
**_Toothpaste Addict_

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**"Schematics" is a collection of drabbles.  
I'll take mini-requests involving Cloud, Zack, or ZxC. Just let me know what you want in a review or PM.  
**("mini" meaning don't expect more than 200-700 words)

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--

Every night, he sits on the precipice where time stopped forever.

Most times it's almost warm, the skies clear, the air silent. Yet every night he sits with that harrowing cold crawling across his skin, rain soaking his clothes and every single gunshot ringing in his ears as he falls back into the moment that never really ended. The sense of anguish that consumed him then has followed him, shadowing his every motion since the minute he remembered. And every night, he sits by the rusted sword that marks Zack's grave and wonders if it happened at all.

So many things messed with his reality in those years. So many things that he knew, beyond a doubt, to be true turned out to be lies. And the truth turned out to be a tangle of unfathomable madness that wouldn't have even made it as a rumor. In retrospect, none of it seems believable. What if none of it happened?

Maybe... he muses, in the darkness, when he is sure no one will hear his thoughts. Maybe that day was just another lie--another twisted misconception. Maybe none of it is real. After all, if they could fuck with his mind like that once, what's to say they can't do it again? Maybe Zack is still out there somewhere, scorning the boy who disappeared with his precious sword.

Maybe one day, Zack will come back here.

Cloud leans against Fenrir, his glimmering mako eyes watching Edge through the darkness.

Maybe.

--

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**A/N: **Just a thought xD Reviews remind me to update... 8D


	3. Cloud: Reflections

**Reflections  
**_Toothpaste Addict_

* * *

**"Schematics" is a collection of drabbles.  
I'll take mini-requests involving Cloud, Zack, or ZxC. Just let me know what you want in a review or PM.  
**("mini" meaning don't expect more than 200-700 words)

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--

He waits until he's sure Tifa's asleep before getting out of bed carefully, so as not to disturb her. He glances back as the floor creaks under his feet, watching. When she doesn't budge, he crosses the room, gathering his clothes. In the tall wall mirror, his reflection seems to beckon as they dress quickly in unison.

_You don't belong here,_ the man in the mirror seems to say.Disgust twists in his gut as he sees the pale glow of mako that still lingers in his eyes. He wonders if it will ever fade.

He's done a good job of moving on, on the outside. His delivery service is successful, and he's running it with the girl of his dreams. The only remnant of his past is a trace of that persistant glow in his eyes, and he should feel lucky about that. No more Sephiroth clones, no more calls from ShinRa, no more run-ins with Turks. That entire era has passed, leaving him used and tired.

Everyone else has learned to forgive and forget. Everyone else has moved on. But try as he might, Cloud can't let it go as easily as the others.

He leaves Seventh Heaven behind, making his way down the streets of Edge. Everything's been rennovated. The past has been erased. Everyone else would say it's an improvement, that the good has washed away the bad. But somehow, he can't see it that way. All he sees is a forcible cover-up of a world that was never given closure.

How... how can all of _that_ be over? The weight of the past bears down on him in the darkness, and he wonders if he'll ever be free of it. How can he be the only one who remembers?

He jogs the last block to where Fenrir is parked, far enough from the bar that Tifa won't hear him leave. By day his new life suffices, makes the hours bearable; but at night, it's a constraint. The obligations associated with his new life suffocate him. He needs freedom, and Tifa can't give him that.

Only one person ever could.

Fenrir growls as he starts the engine, roaring with anticipation for a chase as they leave Edge behind. It's been years since they've had anything to go after--or run from, for that matter. Years since he's felt adrenaline and mako entwine in his veins, years since he's had to use the heavy sword he still wears most of the time.

Cloud slows as he reaches the tall ledge overlooking the place he'll always call _Midgar_, no matter how many time Tifa corrects him. He parks, walking the last stretch to his destination. The Buster is still there as always, govered in grime and rust. It's been there for a long time.

He's almost 30 now, but he can't acknowledge that. His life has been on hiatus since the day he realized what had happened here. The sword that was once so new and foreign to him has retired and sat untouched in the ground for an age. Its entire lifespan has waned, and he still remains--to a frightening extent--in the same daze as the day Zack was shot to death.

He wonders if he'll ever be able to let go.

--

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**A/N: **Written at the same time as _Maybe_. I wanted to explore the many different ways Cloud could reflect on Zack's death, but only touched on a couple things XD Reviews still make you sexier 8)


	4. ZxC: Touch

**Touch  
**_Toothpaste Addict_

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**"Schematics" is a collection of drabbles.  
I'll take mini-requests involving Cloud, Zack, or ZxC. Just let me know what you want in a review or PM.  
**

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--

The night sky is clear, the air still. The door to their hotel room is bolted, the curtains drawn tight. It's dark inside, too, the room lit only by the nightlight in the far corner and the pale glow coming through the cracked bathroom door. The bed by the wall is untouched, despite the fact that there are two of them sharing the room. They're both occupying the bed by the window, limbs entangled as steady themselves against each other.

Cloud is lying on his side, staring past the other at the cracked plaster on the wall. He nuzzles his pillow contentedly, turning his gaze to Zack's face. The older boy's violet eyes are glowing, the intensity fading as he catches his breath. Their lips meet in the darkness.

The dark-haired teen's affectionate murmurs reach his ears between kisses and he returns them as he settles down from his high. He trails a hand down the other's arm, fingers entwining when they touch.

It's silent except for the sound of their breathing as it evens and grows serene. It's hard to imagine the erratic panting that was passing their lips several minutes ago, now that it's over. But he knows it's real because he can feel Zack's body against his own, warm and unclothed.

It's also hard to imagine that he's not really a person, as human as Zack makes him feel. He's a trooper, another one of Shinra's toy soldiers to be lined up in neat little rows that are designed to break unmourned on enemy lines. He doesn't feel that dispensable when Zack is wrapped around him like this, half asleep. But he knows it's real because he can feel their dog tags pressed between their torsos, the metal chilled and foreboding.

It's hardest to imagine, though, that he's really curled up in bed with his lieutenant after a long, hard fuck. Stealing kisses behind the barracks was already a violation of protocol; this is nothing short of insubordination.

But he knows it's real, and that's what matters.

--

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**A/N: **Kind of pointless, but I like it? XD Thanks to everyone who's reviewed thus far, ilyouguys! -hugs everyone-


	5. Zack: Observation

**Observation  
**_Toothpaste Addict_

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**"Schematics" is a drabble collection.  
Feel free to make requests.**

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--  
"Zack, we should go soon," Aerith reminds him gently, her voice slightly strained from exertion. He knows it's hard for her to carry them this far from the lifestream, but he doesn't want to leave the younger man's side.

"He's having a nightmare," he says quietly, in way of protest. Cloud's eyebrows are furrowed even in sleep, small, discontented sounds passing his lips as he curls up unconsciously under the covers.

Zack can see the images behind the blond's eyelids as clearly as he can see the man sleeping before him. He knows what Cloud dreams about. The cold wetness of rain, the exploding sound of gunshots, the eerie light cast by fire, the overpowering stench of blood. And above all, the green haze before his eyes and the burn of mako branding him as something far less than human.

Reaching out, he trails his fingers over the discoloration that has begun to spread on the sleeping man's arm. His heart wrenches when his fingers slip through Cloud like he isn't there. He's right here watching over him but he can't even touch the blond anymore. Aerith has done a good job of preserving their forms, but compared to Cloud, who's alive, he's decidedly unsubstantial. Nothing more than a spirit. Try as he might, he can't really _be_ here for his friend. He's just a memory, lingering on stubbornly.

His emotions flow effortlessly around the room with no physical form to restrain them, and Aerith lays a hand on his arm when his frustration reaches her. "We'll come back tomorrow," she promises, turning towards the glowing white doorway that will take them home.

No matter how many times he comes back, he won't be able to reach Cloud. He's dead, and Cloud is alive. That's one barrier he can't cross, no matter how badly he wants to. The way his hand sinks, unfeeling, through the other man's arm can attest to that. "Good night, Cloud," he murmurs, following Aerith as she steps into the light.

The gateway to the lifestream fades behind them as they vanish, its soft glow retreating and leaving the room dark. In the silence, however, the sleeping man has relaxed noticeably. In his dream, a familiar form delivers him from the nightmares, fighting them back with a massive broadsword. The nightmares fall away from around him, slowly but surely, and a warm embrace lulls him into a contented, dreamless sleep.  
--

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**A/N: **This would be pre-AC, if you caught the fleeting reference to Cloud's geostigma. On another note, my drabbles FF7 are starting to all sound the same. Excuse me while I go write some KH or FF8 or something to clean my palette.


	6. Cloud: Clarity

**Clarity  
**_Toothpaste Addict_

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**"Schematics" is a drabble collection.  
Feel free to make requests.**

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--

He's hanging by the last threads of consciousness when he scratches the final letters into the side of his tank. His vision is swimming sickeningly before his eyes, everything around him covered by a film of unappetizing green. He's faintly aware that he might have been brought here before Zack started writing messages on the glass, and that he might have left home to join SOLDIER at one point before a city went up in flames. The muddled chronology in his mind tries to straighten itself out and his head begins to throb. He tries to clear his mind, tries to focus on something that won't overwhelm him.

He's in the tank.

There, a simple thought that he can work from. He's in the tank, and Zack is next to him. But that doesn't make any sense, because he's definitely under the impression that he left the tank _before_ he ended up in the yellow truck.

"What're you gunna do once we get to Midgar?" a familiar voice asks. It doesn't quite occur to him that he could speak if he wanted to, so he sits in silence as the voice continues to ramble on about plans and money. The words are meaningless to him but they're refreshing nonetheless, swirling around his head like clean water. That voice is cool against his ears, soothing the burn of his mako-induced stupor. He opens his eyes, but he's met by a wall of green and all he sees is the lab beyond the glass confines of his tank. He blinks hard, tries to tell himself that he _knows_ he's not in the lab anymore, but he doesn't really. Every time he looks, he's somewhere else.

In the barracks. Outside a house that might be his own. In the back of a pick-up truck. Trapped in a fire as panic twists in his gut. On a cliff, vision blurring as a hoarse scream shatters the silence. Who knows which one is real?

"So, Cloud, what about you?"

That voice brings him back to, sweeping him in one deft pull from all the places that he's visiting at once. It draws him effortlessly back to reality, and he wants that voice. He wants that strength for himself. He tries to speak, aware now that he has a voice too, but the words die on his tongue and he feels the familiar pain lance through his skull. "Nhhh."

Zack makes it sound so easy.

"Just kidding! I wouldn't leave you to fend for yourself." There's warm laughter, a hand ruffling his hair, and he realizes that he can feel. There's chilled metal at his palms, the floor of the truck hard and uncomfortable underneath him. And even though he's not quite sure what any of it means, he loves it. It's not the numbing sensation of thick fluid shifting slowly around him and the agonizing fire in his veins, and he wants the power to keep it that way.

"We're friends, right? Partners, you 'n me. We're in this together."

_You and me._ He mumbles the words in his mind, not quite understanding what they mean. _In this together_. Zack has fallen silent and when the numbness begins to crawl back across his skin, he panics. He clings to the voice, trying to fend off the familiar feeling of being submerged in mako.

_Together. _

He reaches out blindly, fingers closing weakly around thick fabric before his strength is drained and his grip fails. A hand catches his before it hits the floor, leading him from the depths of his mind and back to the truck once more. He clings to that hand, trying to fend off the darkness.

"Mercenaries, Cloud." The words pull him closer to sanity, and the truck slowly comes into focus. He wants to turn his head and see the source of that voice, but he can't move. "That's what we're gunna be, okay?"

_Mercenaries. _He repeats the words to himself, lips shadowing them until he can't remember who else would've spoken them. _That's what we're going to be. _The voice echoing in his mind becomes his own, and he doesn't really notice when his hand is lowered back to his side. _A mercenary_, he tells himself.

_That's what I'm going to be._

--

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**A/N: **For Tamarani. :D


	7. ZxC: Tutorial

**Tutorial  
**_Toothpaste Addict_

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**"Schematics" is a drabble collection.  
If you want updates, make requests.**

**warning: **this one's cracky.

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--

"Zack."

"Hm?"

Cloud glanced around awkwardly. "Why are we in a field in the middle of nowhere, and why are you on top of me?" He questioned, gesturing at the grass he was currently pinned to.

"Kissing tutorial," Zack answered brightly.

If there was tumbleweed in Gaia, it would've been blowing by in the background right now. Cloud, equipped with what was possibly the blankest expression in the world, stared at his older friend. "You're kidding."

"Nope! All right, first you've got those... not-really-kisses kisses," Zack announced, to no one in particular. Leaning down, he kissed the tip of his subordinate's nose. "These are lame, but cute." Pressing another quick kiss to the cadet's cheek, he grinned widely. "Very cute."

Cloud rolled his eyes, fighting back the light blush tinging his cheeks. "You are such a dork."

"That's 'you are such a dork, _sir_', Private!" The dark-haired teen shot back with mock severity.

"Zack, shut the hell up."

" 'Shut the hell up, _sir_.' "

"Zack, I'm fucking serious--"

Ignoring the ranting boy, Zack turned back to the spot of air next to them that he'd been addressing before. "Then you've got the sort-of kisses," he continued, capturing Cloud's lips to cut off the stream of increasingly colorful insults spewing forth therefrom. He lingered there for a moment, smirking eyes watching Cloud's defiant ones, before pulling back and glancing over at the bit of air again. "These suck because you're like 'yay, a real kiss!' but then you just kind of sit there until you realize the author isn't going anywhere with it."

"Zack, _shut up_."

"You shut up," Zack murmured half-heartedly, the words lost between them as their lips met again. The younger boy's lips parted with his own and their tongues met between them, sending a pleasant wash of electricity through him. Their mouths fell into a languid rhythm, the kiss deepening until their tongues seemed to mesh and he could scarcely tell where his own ended and where Cloud's began.

A quiet sound of approval formed in his throat as the blond's wandering hands found his hips. Cloud's slender hands began to work their magic, stroking and kneading his hips in a way that sent all sorts of wayward thoughts sparking through him, each a little less coherent than the last. A shudder wound slowly up his spine when the boy's fingers dipped beneath the waistband of his boxers, brushing against on the sensitive skin there. With one arm still braced against the grass, he slid a hand down Cloud's torso, feeling his way to the hem of the cadet's shirt and then underneath it.

The younger boy squirmed slightly as Zack's fingers traced the contours of his abs and continued upwards. He moaned softly into Zack's mouth when the older boy thumbed one of his nipples, sending a jolt of pleasure straight through him. His hands traced impatient circles on Zack's hips and he arched, only half consciously, against the other's body.

Breaking the kiss, the older boy pulled back and grinned sheepishly. "Hold on a sec."

Cloud gave an exasperated sigh. "God dammit, Zack, are you serious?"

"Is that, uh, tutorial thing still going?" Zack asked loudly.

"Yes," said the omniscient voice from beyond.

The young cadet flinched despite himself. "Wha--? Who was that?"

"The narrator," Zack informed him matter-of-factly, like Cloud would know who I was. (Someone call the mods, I just broke TOS :0)

"I hate you," Cloud growled through gritted teeth, nails digging vengefully into the older boy's hips. Zack ignored him pointedly.

"All right, then we have the good sort of kisses."

"That _was_ the good sort, you idiot," Cloud retorted, pulling Zack's hips down over his own. When he rocked against the other pointedly, the older boy faltered. He'd clearly had something else in mind, but whatever it was this was more to his taste.

Zack dipped his head to kiss the younger boy deeply, grinding their hips together and pulling a contented hum from the other. "Y'know what? You're right," he decided between kisses, heat curling through him at friction between them. Cloud gave his hips a squeeze, silently urging him on, and the older boy chuckled. "Fuck the tutorial."

"Fuck the tutorial," Cloud agreed, slightly breathless, before Zack claimed his lips resolutely.

--

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**A/N: **Stupid, yes. But fun nonetheless, I hope :D? Wrote this a while back in response to a question about kisses, can't remember exactly OTL; Anyway, wasn't feeling enough fail vibes to submit until now.

Needed a break from all the PSEUDOANGST in Schematics and the IHATEYOU in Cathexis (the new Cleon fic, if you haven't read it) XD


	8. Interlude: Music Meme

**INTERLUDE:**** Music Meme  
**

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Decided to do that meme where you get 10 songs on shuffle and draw/write/etc something within the duration of each of them. (i.e., if the song is 1 minute long, you get 1 minute to write.)

A break from the regular flow of Schematics, but I tried to make it as relevant as possible.

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**1. "Everytime I Die"  
Children of Bodom**

And it was over. The light flickered within him, and suddenly it was only a matter of time before he whithered away completely. The sky was reduced to a starless slate of darkness, everything within him a shattered mess. Even the influence of mako poisoning had nothing on the intangible promise of terror that was roaring through his veins.

Every night after was the same. He could do nothing but fall back into the way it had been stolen from him in a single, gasping breath, the life draining out of the man in his arms. Time didn't make it easier. Time made the scent of blood more vivid, the candlelight flickering more desperately and waning as wax poured down the rusting candlestick and burned his hand as he held it forward for light in the dark cavern of his nightmares.

There was no comfort in sleep. The air was frigid around him, even when his sheets were soaked in sweat, tangled around his limbs. The wind screamed in his ears, each gust a vow to never release him until that light was completely diminished.

Every night, it hurt a little more.

--

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**2. "Present From the Poison-Hearted"  
Cradle of Filth **

There's something exhilarating about the way the mako--once so foreign to him--pumps through his veins. The substance that nearly drove him insane is at his command, decimating enemies for him as he wields its power mercilessly. Even when he's not using magic, he can feel it within him, giving him strength and speed. It's a constant burn inside of him, an agony that's so sweet and so giving that he can't imagine being without it.

It's there when he slices through his foes with a sword he shouldn't even be able to lift. It's there in the adrenaline that courses through him as they scream, and the jolt of sheer ecstasy he feels at the hot splash of blood against his bare skin.

It burns through him and takes his worries away, pulling him back to a place where nothing matters except survival. It lets him let his humanity go as he cuts through anything that gets in his way, trapping his victims in a circle of sickeningly ironic flames as he cuts them down. It lets him howl with gleeful--if not maniacal--laughter as the blood of innocents taints his hands day after day.

It lets him live, when he's dead inside.

**--**

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**3. "Zombie Creeping Flesh"  
Shaun of the Dead Soundtrack  
**

"I've got a splitting headache, and your stupid hip-hop isn't helping," Sephiroth ground out. "And the front door is open. AGAIN."

As he vanished up the stairs, Zack screwed his face up. "It's not hip-hop, it's electro."

"Prick," Cloud huffed in agreement. "Next time I see him, he's dead."

**(OKAY so. Originally I got Apocalyptica's "Nothing Else Matters" cover, it was all good, I started writing, but then got interrupted and stuff, so I decided to try again with something else.**

**Second try yielded Keaton's "Barbie Girl vs. Ghost Busters" and I was like "...LMAO no."  
**

**Third time around, I got Tai Mai Shu's "Ugly Girl" and was laughing too hard to write anything.**

**Fourth try gave me this "song" (read: 30 second dialogue clip, which I shamelessly ripped.) SotD is a great movie.)****  
**

**--**

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**4. "Fight Tune - Arms of ShinRa"  
DCFF Soundtrack **

"Cloud, get down!"

The other boy's frantic voice reaches his ears and he drops to the ground instantly, gripping his rifle to his chest as something twice his size goes hurling overhead. Scrambling to his feet, he darts for cover. Before he can even look up, Zack is at his side, swinging at something that has too many teeth.

The creature collapses with an ear-splitting screech and Zack's voice rises over the chaos. "Pull back!" He roars, with a wide sweeping gesture, and his men are quick to obey. Only Cloud lingers, providing cover fire as he backs up his friend. He stays, standing his ground until his lieutenant finally consents to follow the others.

They retreat together.

--

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**5. "Word Disassociation"  
Lemon Demon **

"Lasagna?" Zack inquires with a snort, as Cloud lays the little squares on the Scrabble board.

"I'm craving some, shut up," the younger boy snaps.

The lieutenant shrugs, glancing over his pieces before a smirk spreads over his face. Slowly, he spells out his next word, his 'n' intersecting the one from Cloud's _lasagna_.

_u-n-d-r-e-s-s_

So that's how he wants to play, is it? Suddenly, the game has very little to do with Scrabble. The blond smirks in return, laying a single letter above the 'e' to spell out a command.

_m-e_

Zack doesn't have to be asked twice.

**--**

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**6. "Still Alive"  
GLaDOS **

It had all gone quite smoothly. Honestly.

Granted, he was presently lacking a body, but that was temporary situation. A hitch in the plan, that was all. He'd be back soon--two years at most--with a new array of crazy ways to torment Cloud.

_That's what you get for messing with me, Strife._

Until he managed to his body back, his memory would have to do. He knew the kid associated a great deal of trauma with him, and--even though it wasn't nearly as severe as he'd like it to be--it would suffice. He'd let Cloud angst and emo over all the ways he--the general-turned-psychopath--had managed to fuck over his life. And then he'd come back to life and make it happen all over again. He'd cease to be just a memory, just to get revenge on the little shit who'd killed him.

_I'm still alive, bitch._

**(I normally take Seph very, very seriously. But this song just seemed very fitting for Seph crack XD btw if you haven't played Portal yet, do so.)**

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**7. "Pray for Plagues"  
Bring Me the Horizon **

He fights because there's nothing more that Sephiroth can possibly take from him except for his life, and that's exactly what he wants. It seems fitting, after all. Let the guy who stole his entire world from under his hands take the last of it. Just peachy.

The others are fighting for revenge. Justice. Love. All sorts of words that ring meaningless in his ears and make him want to puke because they sound so damn contrived.

He's fighting for death, and that's that. He can count every fucking blessing that's ever been bestowed upon him, and all of them pale in comparison when he seeks a reason to go on. The only thing that burns in him so brightly that he can pick it out and say _this is it_, _this is what I'm fighting for_ is the bittersweet need to hand his life over to the silver-haired demon he once worshipped.

--

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**8. "Farewell"  
Apocalyptica **

His hands tremble at his sides as he kneels in front of the sword in the ground.

He remembers when he first took it up, how it seemed larger than life, how he dragged it with the last of his waning strength toward a city that never really became home. He remembers when he took it all on his shoulders, the vow to live for a man whose life had been stolen from him; when he unconsciously forsook himself in favor of the boy he loved. He wanted to preserve Zack forever. His own life was a small price to pay.

He remembers how he said "goodnight" instead of "goodbye" to distance himself from the unbearably heart-breaking fact that their farewell was forever. He remembers how unaware he was that there would be no dawn for either of them.

Zack was shot to death that day, life leaving him in a gush of red that ran over the rocks. Cloud was cast aside, mangled and broken, left to rot the moment that agonized scream passed his lips in the rain. He assumed the other boy's persona in a desperate attempt to keep his lover alive--somehow, in some little way.

And in the end, neither of them survived.

**(Farewell is the one song, of all songs, to achieve complete musical perfection.)  
(****By the way, Apocalyptica for fucking life! I'm a cellist of the metal variety and they are my gods.)**

--

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**9. "Kill Me Quickly"  
Thrice **

He wakes with a sheen of cold sweat covering his skin, the darkness empty around him as he stares forward, unseeing. He finds himself shivering despite the warmth of the air around him, and tries not to admit that he's so, _so_ tired of the circular life he's pursuing.

Every day is exactly the same, a wild goose chase of a crazy man bent on destroying the world. A battle as he cuts through monsters that grow increasingly ridiculous with each passing day, as he cuts through the jumbled memories in his head that grow increasingly fuzzy as time goes on. As everything becomes a chaotic blur around him, one thing becomes increasingly obvious: something's missing.

Some_one_ is missing.

He feels it in the way his body instinctively seeks a familiar warmth in the darkness. The way his heart pounds with a hollow sound in his chest when nameless lips ghost over his own, his memories unable to supply a face to go with that touch. The way a comforting voice rings wordlessly in his ears and he _knows_ there should be someone here who isn't.

He clenches his eyes shut and tries to sleep, praying silently to wake up somewhere else.

--

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**10. "Kyrie" from Requiem Mass in D Minor  
W.A. Mozart **

He knew what heaven was. The memories were vague but he knew enough to know that his time with Zack had been heaven on Gaia. Everything from his words to his touch, to his sheer _presence_; Zack was heaven, plain and simple.

And he knew what hell was. His entire life had been turned upside down and massacred, everything he held dear stolen from him and mangled before his eyes.

Cloud sat alone in the church, head bowed as though in prayer. And he was praying, to any deity who might be listening. He prayed that the planet still had mercy. He prayed, with everything he had within him, that he would not be damned to hell forever.

--

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**/MEME**

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**A/N: **GODS It's hard really writing things in such short amounts of time T-T (most of there are like, 2-5 minutes?)

Several of these songs (1, 2, 7, 9) were actually in line to be used in a half-baked idea I had for "metal fantasy VII" or something, haha. Except I hate songfics, so I'm glad I had a better excuse to write about them.

I won't tag, but PM me or something if you do this, I'd like to see what other people come up with 8D

ALSO, I'm leaving soon. I might update Schematics before then, but if I don't, see you in a couple weeks! Details of my trip will probably be posted in fic form when I return :B


	9. ZxC: Peanut Butter

**Peanut Butter**  
_Toothpaste Addict_

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**"Schematics" is a drabble collection.  
If you want updates, make requests.**

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Cloud had gotten Zack a jar of peanut butter for his birthday, which he'd bought when he was under the plate the week before. He'd even taped a plastic spoon to it--undoubtedly a true token of his love--which he'd stolen from a fast-food joint. He brought it to the other boy's room, and the lieutenant's violet eyes lit up when he saw it. A smile broke over Zack's face--first genuine glee, and then something more crafty.

Cloud didn't miss the way the wide grin evolved into an evil little smirk, but seriously... this was Zack. If you knew he was plotting, all you could do was brace yourself. Zack's unyielding will was a force to be reckoned with, and he knew better than to fight it.

"The next time we're both on leave," the older boy announced. "We're taking this baby into town and eating the entire thing." And he stashed it under the bed they were sitting on.

Going into town, Cloud knew, meant getting sloshed as hell and crashing at an inn. Except he never drank enough to get drunk, and Zack _couldn't_ get drunk, so it really mostly referred to the valiant efforts they made to drive their unfortunate bed into the ground afterwards.

"You don't have plans, do you?" The dark-haired teen was leaning into him, mako eyes glimmering with amusement. Dangerously close, he breathed into Cloud's ear, "I don't know how long I can hold out..."

The younger boy swatted him away with a scowl, mentally lining up their schedules. "Next weekend?" he asked, unconsciously licking his lips. It wasn't just the peanut butter he was looking forward to.

"Mhm," Zack concurred, claiming the cadet's lips briefly.

At least, he'd meant for it to be brief, but the dark-haired teen was a complete failure at self-control. As such, it wasn't long before the blond was pinned underneath him, squirming despite the half-hearted protests he was mumbling into the older boy's mouth. They knew Zack had roommates who would be back any minute and they _knew_ they didn't want to start something they wouldn't have time to finish. But that didn't stop hands sneaking under shirts, tongues from engaging in the mocking dance that promised things far sweeter--things they couldn't have right now.

Enhanced hearing picking up the fumble of keys outside, Zack reluctantly lifted himself off of the young blond, flopping down on his back as the younger boy bolted up and tried to look casual. His mako eyes grazed Cloud's sitting form, mentally undressing the cadet despite his best efforts to the contrary. Groaning inwardly as the door opened, he turned his eyes back to the ceiling.

It was going to be a long week.

--

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**A/N: **Sorry for not updating in ages. D8 You guys have to like, nag me about this one. Make requests and shit. Or else I forget about it XD

Schematics hit 50 reviews last chapter. YOUGUYSAREAWESOME :33

**ALSO OMG LOOK!!** Scision has done some art for Schematics 8D;  
**pastryfish. deviantart. com/art/Schematics-I-IV-93930740 **minus the spaces, of course.


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